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Tsodilo

Tsodilo

With one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world, Tsodilo has been called the ''Louvre of the Desert''. Over 4,500 paintings are preserved in an area of only 10 km2 of the Kalahari Desert. The archaeological record of the area gives a chronological account of human activities and environmental changes over at least 100,000 years. Local communities in this hostile environment respect Tsodilo as a place of worship frequented by ancestral spirits.

Outstanding Universal Value

Brief synthesis

Located in north-west Botswana near the Namibian Border in Okavango Sub-District, the Tsodilo Hills are a small area of massive quartzite rock formations that rise from ancient sand dunes to the east and a dry fossil lake bed to the west in the Kalahari Desert. The Hills have provided shelter and other resources to people for over 100,000 years. It now retains a remarkable record, in its archaeology, its rock art, and its continuing traditions, not only of this use but also of the development of human culture and of a symbiotic nature/human relationship over many thousands of years.

The archaeological record of the site gives a chronological account of human activities and environmental changes over at least 100,000 years, although not continuously.

Often large and imposing rock paintings exist in the shelters and caves, and although not accurately dated appear to span from the Stone Age right through to the 19th century. In addition, within the site sediments, there is considerable information pertaining to the paleo-environment. This combination provides an insight into early ways of human life, and how people interacted with their environment both through time and space.

The local communities revere Tsodilo as a place of worship and as a home for ancestral spirits. Its water holes and hills are revered as a sacred cultural landscape, by the Hambukushu and San communities.

Criterion (i): For many thousands of years the rocky outcrops of Tsodilo in the harsh landscape of the Kalahari Desert have been visited and settled by humans, who have left rich traces of their presence in the form of outstanding rock art.

Criterion (iii):Tsodilo is a site that has witnessed visits and settlement by successive human communities for many millennia.

Criterion (vi): The Tsodilo outcrops have immense symbolic and religious significance for the human communities who continue to survive in this hostile environment.

Integrity

The boundaries contain all the main sites. Three basic long-term facts have contributed to Tsodilo’s outstanding state of preservation: its remoteness, its low population density, and the high degree of resistance to erosion of its quartzitic rock. The considerable archaeological evidence is generally well preserved. All excavations are controlled in accordance with the national legislation. Previous excavations have been properly backfilled and, in most instances, leaving intact deposits and strata as a resource for future research.

The property attracts increasing visitor numbers, resulting in the need to manage the threat of increased litter. Despite these increased visits, there have been limited reports of vandalism and graffiti due to the compulsive guided tour regulations put in place.

Authenticity

The authenticity of the rock art in terms of materials, techniques, setting and workmanship is impeccable and, other than some impact caused by natural deterioration and visitors, it remains as original as the time of its creation. Conservation work has been limited to preventive strategies without altering the art and its substrate.

The intangible values of the site continue to be practiced thereby authenticating them as sacred and relevant to local communities. This approach ensures their continued evolvement in line with traditional protection systems.

Protection and management requirements

The site owned by the Government is currently protected in terms of the Monuments & Relics Act 2001, and by conditions of the Anthropological Research Act 1967, National Parks Act 1967, and Tribal Act 1968.

Declared a National Monument in 1927, the responsibility for looking after Tsodilo Hills rests with the Department of National Museum and Monuments in collaboration with the Tsodilo Management Authority, an independent advisory group comprising the Tsodilo Community Trust, community based organizations, NGOs and selected critical government based Departments.

To ensure the conservation of all the site attributes, in 1997, a revised Integrated Management Plan was developed and approved by stakeholders. An Integrated management Plan detailing community initiatives was developed in 2007 and currently being implemented in the buffer area of the site. With the assistance of the African World Heritage Fund, a Core Area Management Plan was developed for the site in 2009.

The main objective of the previous and the current management plans is to ensure the conservation of the values of the site. In addition to the existing site office, and the Tsodilo Management Authority Trust, the Government has opened a regional Monument office to directly oversee the implementation of the management plan for the site.